- Veterinary medicine carries a serious mental health risk. Suzanne Tomasi and colleagues (Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2019) found US veterinarians died by suicide at 2.1 times the expected rate for men and 3.5 times for women between 1979 and 2015.
- Moral distress is central. Lisa Moses, Monica Malowney and Jon Wesley Boyd surveyed 889 North American veterinarians (Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2018). 79% said they had been asked to provide care they considered futile, and over 70% said obstacles to providing appropriate care caused them or their staff moderate to severe distress.
- Charles Figley and Robert Roop described compassion fatigue in the animal-care community in 2006: the exhaustion of repeatedly caring for suffering animals and the people who love them.
- Charlie Reeve and colleagues (Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2005) named the caring-killing paradox among shelter workers: people drawn to the work by care for animals who are also asked to end their lives.
- Protection is mostly structural: reasonable caseloads, support after euthanasia and difficult cases, training in handling ethical conflict and client conflict, and a culture where asking for help is normal.
In This Article
Veterinarian burnout is not about loving animals too much. It is about a job that asks people to care deeply for animals and their owners, end lives regularly, argue about money in moments of grief, and absorb the moral cost when the best care is not possible. The research on this profession is sobering, and it points clearly at the structure of the work rather than the character of the people doing it.
If you work in animal care and are struggling, please read the safety note at the end first.
How serious is the problem?
Serious. Suzanne Tomasi and colleagues at the CDC examined the deaths of 11,620 US veterinarians between 1979 and 2015 (Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2019). Compared with the general population, male veterinarians died by suicide at 2.1 times the expected rate and female veterinarians at 3.5 times.
David Bartram and David Baldwin reviewed possible reasons in the Veterinary Record in 2010. They described a combination of factors: occupational stressors, professional and social isolation, access to and knowledge of lethal medications, and attitudes to death shaped by routine euthanasia. No single cause, but a profession with several risk factors stacked together.
Moral distress: knowing what is right and being unable to do it
Moral distress is the strain of knowing the right course of action but being prevented from taking it. In veterinary medicine it happens constantly.
Lisa Moses, Monica Malowney and Jon Wesley Boyd surveyed 889 veterinarians across North America (Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2018). The findings are striking:
- A majority reported conflict over what care was appropriate to provide.
- 79% said they had been asked to provide care they considered futile.
- Over 70% said obstacles to providing appropriate care caused them or their staff moderate to severe distress.
- More than 70% reported no training in conflict resolution or self-care.
The obstacles are familiar to anyone in the field: an owner who cannot afford treatment, an owner who wants to continue treatment that only prolongs suffering, or the reverse, an owner requesting euthanasia of an animal that could be treated. We explored this kind of residue in Moral Residue, and doctors face a human version of it in Why Doctors Burn Out.
Compassion fatigue in animal care
Charles Figley, who popularized the term compassion fatigue, and Robert Roop published Compassion Fatigue in the Animal-Care Community in 2006, extending the idea from human caregivers to veterinarians, vet techs, shelter workers and others who care for animals.
Compassion fatigue is the cost of caring itself. Every sick animal, every grieving owner and every difficult conversation draws on empathy. Over time, that can leave people numb, irritable or detached, the same pattern described in Nurse Burnout and Compassion Fatigue and Therapist Burnout.
The caring-killing paradox
Most people enter animal care because they care about animals. Many of those same people are asked to end animals' lives, sometimes several times a day.
Charlie Reeve, Steven Rogelberg, Christiane Spitzmüller and Natalie DiGiacomo called this the caring-killing paradox in a 2005 study of animal shelter workers (Journal of Applied Social Psychology). They found euthanasia-related strain was associated with greater work stress and other negative outcomes.
Euthanasia can be the most compassionate choice for an animal, and many veterinarians find meaning in providing a peaceful death. Both things are true. Meaning does not cancel the cost of carrying it repeatedly, especially without time to process one before the next appointment.
Other pressures
- Money conversations. Veterinarians often discuss costs with owners at moments of fear and grief, and can be blamed for prices they do not set.
- Client conflict and online abuse. Negative reviews and social media attacks can be relentless and personal.
- Caseloads. Short appointments, emergencies on top of full schedules and staff shortages.
- Debt. Many graduates carry substantial student loans relative to their starting salaries.
- Perfectionism. A profession that selects for high achievers, as we discuss in Why Smart People Burn Out Faster.
Signs of veterinarian burnout and compassion fatigue
- Dread before shifts or particular appointments.
- Feeling numb during euthanasias, or unable to stop thinking about them afterwards.
- Irritability with clients, colleagues or family.
- Cynicism about owners and whether you are making a difference.
- Intrusive thoughts about difficult cases.
- Trouble sleeping and switching off.
- Pulling away from friends and things you used to enjoy.
- Thinking about leaving the profession.
What helps
The research and the profession's own guidance point mainly to structural changes.
Reasonable schedules. Appointment lengths that fit the work, and caseloads that leave room for emergencies.
Space after euthanasia. A few minutes between a euthanasia and the next routine appointment is not inefficiency. It is the minimum needed to process what happened.
Debriefing and peer support. Talking through difficult cases with colleagues reduces isolation, one of the risk factors Bartram and Baldwin identified.
Training for ethical conflict. Moses and colleagues found most veterinarians had none. Skills for discussing futile care, costs and end-of-life decisions reduce distress for clinicians and clients alike.
Clear policies on client abuse. Practices that back staff when clients cross the line make the work safer.
Real time off. Time away with genuine detachment from work. Our essay on how much time off burnout needs covers what the research says.
A culture where asking for help is normal. In a profession with elevated suicide risk, this is not optional.
A note on safety
If you are thinking about ending your life, please reach out now. In the US, call or text 988. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans are on 116 123. If you have access to lethal medications at work and are having thoughts of suicide, please tell someone you trust and ask them to help you stay safe.
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Related reading: Therapist Burnout · Social Worker Burnout · Nurse Burnout and Compassion Fatigue · Caregiver Burnout
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do veterinarians burn out?
Veterinarians face a combination of long hours, high caseloads, financial conversations with clients, euthanasia, ethical conflict about what care is appropriate, client conflict and sometimes online harassment, often alongside high student debt. Lisa Moses and colleagues found most veterinarians in their survey experienced ethical conflict and moral distress, and most had little or no training in managing it.
What is compassion fatigue in veterinary medicine?
Compassion fatigue is the emotional and physical exhaustion that comes from repeatedly caring for suffering animals and their distressed owners. Charles Figley and Robert Roop described it in the animal-care community in 2006. Signs include emotional numbness, irritability, dread before work, intrusive thoughts about cases and reduced empathy, and it can affect veterinarians, vet techs, shelter staff and others in animal care.
Why is the suicide rate high among veterinarians?
Suzanne Tomasi and colleagues found US veterinarians died by suicide at higher rates than the general population between 1979 and 2015. Reviews such as David Bartram and David Baldwin's 2010 study in the Veterinary Record point to a combination of factors, including occupational stress, moral distress, professional isolation, access to lethal medications and familiarity with euthanasia. If you are struggling, please contact a crisis line such as 988 in the US.
What is the caring-killing paradox?
The caring-killing paradox describes the strain experienced by people who are drawn to animal care because they care about animals, but whose work also involves euthanasia. Charlie Reeve and colleagues studied it among animal shelter workers in 2005 and found euthanasia-related strain was associated with work stress and other negative outcomes.
How can veterinarians prevent burnout?
The most protective factors are structural: manageable caseloads and appointment lengths, time between euthanasias and other difficult cases, debriefing and peer support, training in ethical conflict and difficult conversations, clear policies on client abuse, and leadership that treats mental health as part of the job. Personal recovery, including detachment from work and protected time off, matters too.